Soufriere Hills Volcano, Montserrat
Volcanic eruption of 1995 case study
- Created by: emma998
- Created on: 25-02-14 19:34
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- The Soufriere Hills Volcano
- General info
- Island of Montserrat, Carribbean
- June 25th 1997
- Huge eruption, 4-5 million m3 of rocks and gas released
- 19 people killed
- Secondary impacts
- Fires destroyed many buildings including the local government offices, police headquaters
- Tourists stayed away and businesses were destroyed disrupting the economy
- Population decline - 8000 of the island's 12000 inhabitants have left since 1995
- Volcanic ash from the eruption has improved soil fertility
- Tourism on the island is increasing as people come to see the volcano
- Causes
- Montserrat is above a destructive plate margin
- Atlantic plate was forced under the Caribbean plate
- The rock above the pool collapsed opening a vent and causing the eruption
- Magma rose up through the weak points in the soufriere hills forming an underground pool of lava
- General info
- Primary impacts
- The Soufriere Hills Volcano
- General info
- Island of Montserrat, Carribbean
- June 25th 1997
- Huge eruption, 4-5 million m3 of rocks and gas released
- 19 people killed
- Secondary impacts
- Fires destroyed many buildings including the local government offices, police headquaters
- Tourists stayed away and businesses were destroyed disrupting the economy
- Population decline - 8000 of the island's 12000 inhabitants have left since 1995
- Volcanic ash from the eruption has improved soil fertility
- Tourism on the island is increasing as people come to see the volcano
- Causes
- Montserrat is above a destructive plate margin
- Atlantic plate was forced under the Caribbean plate
- The rock above the pool collapsed opening a vent and causing the eruption
- Magma rose up through the weak points in the soufriere hills forming an underground pool of lava
- General info
- Large areas were covered with volcanic ash - the capital Plymouth was buried under 12m of mud and ash
- Over 20 villages and 2/3 of homes were destroyed by pyroclastic flows
- Schools, hospitals, the airport and the port were destroyed
- Vegetation and farmland were destroyed
- 19 people died and 7 were injured
- The Soufriere Hills Volcano
- Long-term responses
- A risk map was created and an exclusion zone is in place. The south side of the island is off-limits while the volcano is still active
- The UK has provided £41 million to develop the north of the island - docks, airport, houses
- The Montserrat Volcano Observatory has been set up to try and predict future eruptions
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